I scrapped my previous idea and built this tractor out of scrapwood and metal roofing I scavenged from my neighbor.

I know the pictuer doesn't show much.

Key features:
Upper story for roosting area with hardware cloth flooring and wood supports about 15-18" high.
All terrain wheels for frequent transport.
PVC Pipe holding 2.5 gallons of water with three nipples. (upper pipe; not much visible in photo)
In the foreground, a PVC pipe supplies feed and
Entire roof is box framed and comes off.

I had my two most expendable chickens as test subjects in there last night. Yep, the roosters. They did not escape nor get consumed.

Here are some notes from its first day of operation:

-Wheels are working great. It's pretty easy to move by slightly lifting the opposite end and pulling.

-Nipple waterers are working - they are already trained on them since a day old.

-I'm not getting good performance with the PVC feeder. I've described that under 'Feeding and Watering" forum. I'm going to try to adjust the angle or it could be my materials.

-They are not venturing into the upper story quite yet. I believe one rooster spent the night up there when I started him there. They are mostly enjoying the grass because it has a different feel from their brooder. They should be able to fly that high, based on the ones escaping when I was doing the transfer.

-My chickens are not very tame, as I learned when transferring them to the tractor from the brooder one at a time. They were not handled much as chicks because my sweet two year old daughter tends to torture them.

Quote:Great idea,nice tractor. I love building out of scraps.I never throw away wood.You'll never know when you'll need it.When you build from scraps It seems like you built it for free.My main squeeze loves when I can build something without using the check book. Will